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Caesium-137 (137 55 Cs), cesium-137 (US), [7] or radiocaesium, is a radioactive isotope of caesium that is formed as one of the more common fission products by the nuclear fission of uranium-235 and other fissionable isotopes in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. Trace quantities also originate from spontaneous fission of uranium-238. It is ...
The shorter-lived 137m Ba (half-life 2.55 minutes) arises as the decay product of the common fission product caesium-137. Barium-114 is predicted to undergo cluster decay, emitting a nucleus of stable 12 C to produce 102 Sn. However this decay is not yet observed; the upper limit on the branching ratio of such decay is 0.0034%.
The accompanying decay scheme diagram shows the beta decay of caesium-137. 137 Cs is noted for a characteristic gamma peak at 661 keV, but this is actually emitted by the daughter radionuclide 137m Ba. The diagram shows the type and energy of the emitted radiation, its relative abundance, and the daughter nuclides after decay.
Decay Scheme of Caesium-137. Based on a public domain image by Kieran Maher (see original image) Date: 31 August 2006: Source: Own work: Author: Dirk Hünniger: Other versions: Derivative works of this file: Caesium-137 Decay Scheme-de-2.svg
It is also not produced by nuclear weapons because 135 Cs is created by beta decay of original fission products only long after the nuclear explosion is over. 136 Cs also captures neutrons with a cross section of 13.00 barns, becoming medium-lived radioactive 137 Cs. Caesium-136 undergoes beta decay (β−), producing 136 Ba directly.
The Kramatorsk radiological accident was a radiation accident that happened in Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, in eastern Ukrainian SSR from 1980 to 1989. A small capsule containing highly radioactive caesium-137 was found inside the concrete wall of an apartment building, with a surface gamma radiation exposure dose rate of 1800 R/year. [1]
As caesium 133, 135, and 137 are formed by the beta particle decay of the corresponding xenon isotopes, this causes the caesium to become physically separated from the bulk of the uranium oxide fuel. Because 135 Xe is a potent nuclear poison with the largest cross section for thermal neutron absorption, the buildup of 135 Xe in the fuel inside ...
Caesium-137 is one such radionuclide. It has a half-life of 30 years, and decays by beta decay without gamma ray emission to a metastable state of barium-137 (137m Ba). Barium-137m has a half-life of a 2.6 minutes and is responsible for all of the gamma ray emission in this decay sequence. The ground state of barium-137 is stable.